Participe e Acompanhe

Gas prices in Portugal are the 4th highest in Europe. Electricity comes in 6th place

ECO News

27 November 2018

Portuguese households have some of the highest energy bills in the EU. Gas prices in the country put Portugal close to the podium, while in terms of electricity expenses only five others charge more.

Portugal is among the countries in Europe where energy bills are the highest. Gas bills for families are the fourth highest among the 28 member states, and when it comes to electricity the country has the sixth highest billing in the Union. In both cases, the prices have decreased last year, but taxes are still weighing far too much on the final price. Only one of the 28 has higher taxes on electricity: Denmark.

According to Eurostat, Portugal was even one of the only member-states where the gas prices have decreased (having registered the fourth largest drop in the Union), which still did not prevent Portugal from coming up as one of the countries with the highest bills in the EU, at €0.08/kWh, being surpassed only by Sweden, Denmark and the Dutch.

Spain comes right after Portugal with a €0.07/kWh cost, which is the current EU average (at the end of the first semester, the EU average for gas prices was at €0.06/kWh). Romania, Hungary and Croatia present much lower values.

As for electricity, Hungary was one of the cheapest yet again, and so were Lithuania and Bulgaria (which has the lowest electricity bill in the whole Union). Portugal’s case is the opposite, as it shows up on the sixth position when it comes to who is paying more on their electricity bills, right next to countries like Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Ireland. In Portugal, the price per kWh is 22,46 cents, including taxes.

Electricity prices for Portuguese households are still some of the highest in the EU, despite the slight drop registered this year. The EU average is 20,49 cents for kWh, and the eurozone countries’ average is 21,87 cents.

Taxation remains as the number one cause for the inflation of prices in Portugal, where households have the second highest tax burden in the EU 28. Eurostat also showed that the taxes have a 37% weight on the final price in electricity at EU level, while in Portugal, they change prices by 55%. As for gas, the taxes represent, on average, 27% of the bill, and 25% in the Portuguese case. In Denmark, gas prices are increased by 55% after taxes.